In some of the Indian traditions, the number of tastes are said to be six: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, spicy and astringent. In this must-read piece at NPR, Robert Krulwich, writes about the number of tastes in the western tradition (four), the discovery of receptor cells in the tongue for these tastes, and the recent addition to the basic tastes (umami); the piece itself is an introduction to Jonah Lehrer’s Proust was a Neuroscientist and is followed by a short excerpt from the book. Take a look!
Tags: , arusuvai, basic tastes, Proust was a neuroscientist, umami
July 21, 2010 at 12:26 am |
spicy? astringent?
These are not tastes lol.
There are 4 taste sensors.
spicy and astringent are not included because they are not tastes. spicy? lol come on what spice? all spice is one of the four tastes and it is your nose that picks up the rest of the flavour.
astringent is what sour or bitter are. it’s just semantics. Do Indians do this just so they can say they have one more layer of understanding? Because if so, it really pans out as one more layer of silly really.
May 25, 2012 at 6:41 am |
“http://www.loveofflute.com/blogs/viewstory/349 Thanks for that awesome posting. It saved MUCH time